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Taken Hostage Summary

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Taken Hostage tells the story of the Iran hostage crisis lasting from November of 1979 to the day Reagan’s inauguration. During this period of time, sixty six Americans were held in captivity by Students Following the Line of Imam after the United States allowed the Shah to undergo medical treatment amidst the Iranian revolution. Americans, after a tough decade of inflation, gas shortages, lack of trust in the government, and the defeat in Vietnam were yet again brought into a situation in which required their complete faith that the Carter administration would save the captives. The hostage crisis was a complete shock to the American people in addition to the heightened tensions because of economic decline, government mistrust, and energy …show more content…

On the domestic aspect, citizens were beginning a new chapter in which they did not trust the government. Stemming back to Lyndon B Johnson and the Credibility Gap of the Vietnam War, the most recent, most devastating attitude change surrounded the Watergate Scandal and the aftermath. During Nixon’s presidency, he was attempting to bug the Democratic Party headquarters located in the Watergate Hotel. While his henchmen were placing the bugs, they were caught, thus causing a huge controversy amongst Americans. Although Nixon attempted to cover up his ties to the break in, it eventually came out that he ordered it to be done. In 1974, former President Nixon resigned from office and Gerald Ford became the temporary president. One of the first executive orders that Ford did was pardon Nixon for his crimes against the United States. The entire scandal had, “driven a stake into the heart of traditional national politics.” (Farber, 27) This controversy was not only publicized nationally, but severely damaged the American people’s already withering relationship with their government. Foreign policy wise, Nixon, while still in office, began to follow Realpolitik, a policy that allowed him to create relationships with both the Soviet Union and China because it no longer required morality to be a considering factor. This change in foreign policy caused concern for Americans because of the fear of communism. …show more content…

The energy crisis began after OPEC seized oil production because of the, “anger at the United States for aiding Israel.” (Farber, 22) This caused a mass panic amongst Americans and resulted in long waits to get gas and constant fuel outages. Carter was extremely adamant that Americans reduce their consumption of fuel in order to reduce the extent of the energy crisis, at one point suggesting putting heavy penalizing taxes on non-fuel efficient vehicles. Political journalist Nicholas Lemann recalled, “[The energy crisis was] the automotive equivalent to the Depression’s bank runs.” (Farber,

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Domestically, Farber discusses the crisis in terms of the associations with Jimmy Carter and the dominating negative view Americans had on the political life in the United States during the hostage crisis. During this time Jimmy Carter was viewed very negatively because Carter and his administration did not resolve the crisis soon enough and let the situation linger on. Ultimately, the Iranian Hostage Crisis is what fated Carter’s presidency in Farber’s

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Ledontrae Gooden U.S. History 11/27/15 Taken Hostage David Farber tells the story of Iranian militants storming a United States Embassy in Tehran. Sixty six Americans were taken hostage, which became known as the Iran Hostage Crisis. This crisis was a concern that fascinated the American public for about four hundred and forty four days. It had stricken America's first confrontation with the forces of radical Islam. Farber takes the first detailed look at the hostage crisis, observing its teachings for America's current War on Terrorism.

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Kent State Massacre Devastates Community "For the past ten years I have devoted myself to presenting people with the facts. What happened here was unforgivable, and the facts prove this."(“The). This was a quote was said by Alan Canfora who was a survivor. Alan was shot on May 4th, 1970 at the Kent State massacre("The). The Ohio National Guard came to Kent State University because the students there were holding an anti-war rally(PUBLISHED).

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His use of ethos helped to reconstruct his lost creditability; By giving the people straight facts to marinate and chew on, Nixon let the people come to their own conclusion as to the type of person that he was; his appealing to the emotional side of people let them know that he too is a just an average person. In the end, the use of his techniques in harmony allowed him to win the hearts of the American people, which allowed them to see that he was an honest, hardworking, average Joe American with nothing to hide, just like the

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Carter uses pathos in the attempt to convince the audience on the weight of the energy crisis as it looms over America. He references the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, and Robert Kennedy; the shock of the near-loss in Vietnam, and the Watergate scandal, all to show the sudden sense of loss in faith of the government then, as it has remained now, justifying Carter’s need to preface this issue threatening America. He also uses pathos in a way that shows how all the American families are suffering as a result of this economic oil inflation, saying that, “a majority of our people believe that the next five years will be worse than the past five years.” This underlines the complete lack of faith the audience has towards their futures in their country. Furthermore, Carter uses ethos as well, demonstrating his credibility through statements such as how he says, “I will lead our fight… and I will ensure honesty.

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Question 7 (for 10 points): After Nixon was connected to the break-in of the offices of the DNC at the Watergate business complex, in part due to the affiliation of his connection to one of the burglars, who was an employee of Nixon’s Committee for the Re-election of the President (CREEP), it gradually became apparent that the Watergate break in was largely a result of Nixon’s beliefs concerning the degree of latitude his office afforded him with regards to transgression of federal law. As the result of an investigation by a senate committee prompted by the Watergate scandal, it was discovered that during his presidency Nixon had committed a number of crimes, which included “extending political favors to powerful business groups in exchange

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How the Watergate Scandal Changed the Way we View our Presidents In 1972 a president would need to be elected for the next term, the two candidates were Richard Nixon and George McGovern. Richard Nixon who had already been on his first term won the election. Nixon tried to get ahead of his opponent in every way possible and went to extreme measures to do so.

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Richard Nixon was the 37th president of the United States; he resigned as president after his involvement in the Watergate Scandal. People broke into the Watergate building to wiretap phones and steal secret documents. Nixon knew about the break in before hand and tried to cover it up. When people found out about him trying to cover it up, he decided to resign as president. He gave his speech on August 8th 1974 and resigned on the 9th.

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Even before the Watergate Scandal happened, Nixon has paranoid that he was going to lose the presidency, therefore, he paid off Democrats in New Hampshire to write-in Kennedy so that his running mate McGovern would lose the election. This scandal which involved the president and chief of staff stealing government money to ensure the winning of Nixon, fractured Americans’ beliefs that the government was trustworthy and respectable. The tape “Financing a Kennedy Write-in Campaign” that recorded President Nixon and Charles Colson discussing tactics to ensure Nixon’s victory serves as proof that the scandals in American politics occurred. These tapes proved to American society that scandalous actions were being performed by presidents and people high in office, therefore, their feelings about the government began to take a negative turn and the news about Watergate furthered their suspicions that the government was keeping secrets from ordinary

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1. What problems did the United States face in the Vietnam War? As the United States struggled against communism in Vietnam, it would face many problems. In the late 1950’s President Eisenhower and later President Kennedy sent military supplies and advisers to South Vietnam. Despite the American aid the Vietcong grew stronger with support from North Vietnam.

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Being known for his foreign policy acted as a personal goal of Nixon during his presidency. A visit to China donoted something unlike any other president had done before, and it helped to developed Nixon’s credibility as a foreign policy leader. “It has been said that Nixon 's trip to China and its results mark the most significant achievement in U.S. foreign policy since the end of World War II, because it shifted the global balance of power in favor of the United States” (“The Richard M. Nixon Administrations”). Along with his visit to China to help promote Nixon’s popularity in foreign affairs, Nixon utilized

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Carter and the government took a big hit for not rescuing the hostages in the embassy. Carter also took a lot of criticism for not improving the economy in the United States. The country was going through a period of high unemployment, rising inflation, and the impact of having not enough energy when Carter took office. Carter was able to give 8 million people jobs, but that was not enough for the people and they still blamed the president for their problems.

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In his essay, Hills explains how Nixon evokes the intended response from the immediate audience by gaining support for the war. Nixon states in his speech, “tonight-to you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans-I ask for your support.” Here, Nixon uses resentment in sacrifice in lives and finance, longing for some action in a marked direction were strategies used to gain support instead of “teaching.” This in turn allowed America to continue in the war which proves that he agrees with Foss for Nixon’s primary role was not that of a teacher or

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During the time of Reagan’s presidency, the Soviet Union was the main priority for American foreign affairs. Therefore, Reagan’s religious beliefs led to a foreign policy that was surrounded by an anti-Soviet and anti-Communist

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The thirty seventh president’s tone throughout the speech was genuine and anguished. He stated frequently his regret towards his resignation; when this passage is read aloud, it is stressed heavily on pathos and that Nixon defended his decision with the selflessness of his own emotions and did what is better for the country (“American”). In his speech, Richard Nixon establishes his credibility and then goes on to show the logic of why he is resigning along with sparking the reader’s emotions in defense of him through the use of frequent fallacies and rhetorical devices. Nixon goes on to speak of his accomplishments and the tasks he hopes the American people will achieve with a new president, but those ideas are shadowed by the steady reminders by Nixon himself of the circumstances that are causing him to resign the Presidency that overall make Nixon’s arguments to logic and his credibility seem

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